Roman Seville (Hispalis) and Italica in Spain

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Seville lies in the Andalucia region of southern Spain. It has been an important settlement since the 8th century BCE. The earliest known inhabitants were the Tartessians who were conquered by the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians fortified the region, but were conquered in the Second Punic War by the Romans under the general Scipio Africanus.

After the war, Scipio needed a place to settle his veteran soldiers. He elected to place them in a new settlement located on a neighboring hill. This settlement would become known as Italica. It was chosen because it was located next to the city of Seville and could be easily defended.

Under the Romans, the city of Seville would become known as Hispalis.

This was the region where Julius Caesar served out his quaestorship; it was the birthplace of two Roman emperors, Trajan and Hadrian; and it was the home city of one of the most important medieval intellectuals, Isidore of Seville who was the city's archbishop in the 7th century.

Most of Seville's early Roman past lies buried under a modern, bustling metropolis. Nevertheless, if we look closely we can find a few remnants along busy streets and tucked between apartments of neighborhoods.



Aqueduct

These are the Roman aqueducts known as the Canos de Carmona, or the Pipes of Carmona.

Much of this architectural marvel was intentionally destroyed in the 20th century. These aqueducts would have carried vital water to the Roman city of Hispalis from natural springs to the south. There are three small surviving sections that are free to visit and only a fifteen minute walk from the old center of Seville.


Columns

Along the way, you can also see three original Roman columns that are of Egyptian granite, the same as those used in the city of Rome. Today, they are nestled on a quiet street between two old apartment buildings.


Transition to Italica

These few surviving fragments of Seville's Roman past paint a small picture of this thriving metropolis. To get a better sense of Roman Hispalis would have looked and functioned, we must look elsewhere; we must turn to Italica, a well-preserved Roman city that costs only 1.50 visit.

Arena

Perhaps the most notably and key area of the archaeological site of Italica is the Roman amphitheater. It is one of the largest of the Roman empire, a testament to the importance and wealth of the region. It is said that the theater could hold up to 25,000 visitors. This is staggering for the ancient world, but it is even more interesting given the fact that only 10,000 people lived in Italica. This means that it likely hosted citizens of neighboring cities.

This arena would have housed some of the bloodiest games and festivals during the Roman period, namely gladiatorial fights. This was a key source of entertainment for Roman citizens. The amphitheater would have been one of the central buildings within Italica.

Novus Urbs

The majority of the residents, however, would have lived nearly 100 meters away in the New City, or Novus Urbs. It is called the New City because this is the newer region of Italica. The original site, or Old City, lies under the modern-day city of Santiponce. It was common during the Roman empire for population of major cities to increase. As this happened, Rome would expand its infrastructure and build out new roads and buildings to accomodate a growing population.

Because no modern city was built on top of the New City of Italica, it means the ruins were remarkably well-preserved.

Throughout this old Roman neighborhood, we can see the preserved mosaics of richly adorned mansions.

We can also see the necessities of every-day life, such as this oven which would have been used to bake bread for the local residents.



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